Speaker Highlights

Lou Greenwald

Assemblyman Lou Greenwald has represented New Jersey's 6th Legislative District since 1996. He currently serves the Assembly Majority Leader.

During his service in the General Assembly, Majority Leader Greenwald has compiled a significant legislative record. As Chairman of the Budget Committee, he has committed himself to responsibly balancing the state's finances, ensuring New Jersey remains affordable for families by cutting wasteful spending and investing in our communities.

A leader in protecting children, he was instrumental in creating the Amber Alert system to help save abducted children in New Jersey. He continues to fight to expand New Jersey's FamilyCare health care program, which covers uninsured kids and families, to ensure that every child in New Jersey receives the medical care they need to remain healthy and safe.

A staunch public health advocate, Majority Leader Greenwald authored provisions to educate the public about the dangers of meningitis and fought to preserve charity care funding for New Jersey's hospitals. He was a critical advocate in bringing a branch of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey to South Jersey, ensuring South Jersey cancer patients would not have to cross the Delaware just to get the treatment they needed.

Majority Leader Greenwald has also been recognized as a leading advocate for the developmentally disabled, preserving funding and pushing for better care for one of New Jersey's most vulnerable populations.
Facing skyrocketing auto insurance rates, he was the architect of 2003 legislation to increase competition in New Jersey's broken auto insurance market. Because of this bill, the number of auto insurance companies in the state has increased significantly. This legislation, a major highlight of Majority Leader Greenwald's career, resulted in more choice and more affordable insurance for New Jersey's drivers.

In 2005, Majority Leader Greenwald participated in the Clean Elections program, designed to empower the public by removing the perception of special interest influence from legislative elections, as part of the first team in history to be named “Clean Candidates.” Majority Greenwald continues to support measures to further empower the public's participation in the political and legislative process.

Majority Greenwald has been widely honored and recognized for his legislative leadership and dedication to public service. He has received the Legislator of the Year award from the Southern New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, the New Jersey Elected Official of the Year award from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Consortium, and the Standing Ovation Award from the South Jersey Cultural Alliance. He has also been honored by the American Diabetes Foundation and the Epilepsy Foundation for his leadership. He has been recognized by the Southern New Jersey Jaycees as one of the Outstanding Young People in New Jersey, by the Cherry Hill Sons of Italy as their Person of the Year, and he received the first ever Governmental Leadership Award from the Advocates for New Jersey History.

Assembly Majority Leader Greenwald comes from a long history of family service. In 1977, when he was just nine years old, his mother, the late Maria Barnaby Greenwald, was elected the first female mayor of Cherry Hill. She served as mayor for nine years and went on to serve as Camden County's first female Freeholder, rising to become New Jersey's first woman Freeholder Director. She then served as the Camden County Surrogate for two years before her term was cut short by a tragic automobile accident.

Majority Leader Greenwald continues to draw great inspiration from his mother, learning the importance of public and community service at her knee since the age of nine. Maria Barnaby Greenwald was legendary for her constituent relationships—always making herself accessible to those she represented no matter what. Her reputation as a listener who always fully heard the concerns of any resident, whether she agreed or not, made her an excellent representative, one who always sought to hear from every side of an issue before making a decision. Today, Majority Leader Greenwald follows in her footsteps, listening and making himself widely accessible to all his constituents—ensuring he makes decisions after thoughtfully considering a wide range of opinions on any issue.

In addition to being a member of the Legislature, Majority Leader Greenwald continues to serve his community as a member of the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the Camden County Bar Association. He is also an active participant in the CEO/Executive Advisory Board for the Southern New Jersey Boy Scouts.

Majority Leader Greenwald was born on March 11, 1967, in Mount Holly. He attended Christ the King Parochial School in Haddonfield and graduated from Cherry Hill High School East. Continuing his education, he graduated from Moravian College in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in political science and went on to earn a law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law in 1992. Later that year, he was admitted to the bar in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. He works as an attorney in Voorhees.

Majority Leader Greenwald currently resides in Voorhees with his wife, Cynthia Ingraldi Greenwald, and their three children.